


A long road home

by Lumeita



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Comfort, Complete but with an opening for a continuation, M/M, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts III, Platonic Affection, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Riku won't let him give up, Sora nearly gives up, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 21:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17905787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumeita/pseuds/Lumeita
Summary: !!!Post KH3 setting! Canon complaint for the end of the game, not so certain for the secret ending.---------He sees the hand of the giant darkness in front of him being raised, and he shifts to protect himself with his keyblade from the next incoming blow. But it’s cracks almost seem to illuminate in this grave hour, as if his keyblade is screaming out and alerting it’s wielder that it can no longer defend them from the next threat.He closes his eyes as he floats inside there, letting himself go. Letting the warm fuzzy feeling spread through his body one last time as he thinks of them; his friends.He’d never had gotten so far without them.





	A long road home

**Author's Note:**

> This began as a pre KH3 fic since i wrote it before i got a chanse to play KH3, but with a few changes and with a little idea growing in my head it became a sort of canon compliant continuation after KH3. Not how sure how it will be with KH3's secret ending though, so i'm playing my cards safe in this one.
> 
> There is an idea to continue this piece, but I found such a nice place to end this that this might as well be a completed work. If however people are curious of what could come ahead, please let me know and I'll try to plan something ahead soon!
> 
> ***
> 
> Also, for those that enjoy talking about KH and wish to to talk about it in a ship friendly server, which is so very sweet and wholesome, check out Destiny Islands! 
> 
> https://discord.gg/TEEnPqZ
> 
> We are a very friendly bunch, and we will warmly welcome whoever comes on by there!

His feet scrapes against the ground as he walks, exhaustion seeping all the way down to his core as he forces himself to keep walking forward, one unsteady step at a time.

In fact, he let’s go of a small laugh in the form of a sudden released breath as he reflects on his current walk and how terrible it is at the moment. His legs are more pendulums that he swings in front of him, almost walking more with his knees and hips than his back and feet. Each step reverberates up his leg to his side, shaking his entire body as he leans on the foot now in front of him to release his other leg to swing it forward, and so he keep up his walk in his fastest pace manageable.

At least he was heading forward still, even if he was certain he’d be reprimanded for walking so lazily back home!

It was far too dangerous to stop and rest, but he knew that he couldn’t walk on for much longer, either. He sure was in a predicament now, one he wasn’t sure how to get out of as he had no idea how he got into this in the first place. He presses his lips together as he reaches to rest his hands behind his head; losing precious swinging motions in turn for a few easier breaths as he opens up his chest in this position, breathing in the murky air more easily.

The dark realm was as looming as ever... He had just been here once before, a brief visit. But thanks to Riku and his friends, a door to the light soon opened up. Back then he have had a feeling as of where to go, but he hadn’t quite picked up a track this time. So he just had to keep going until he would feel something; anything. He’s sure his heart would pick something up sooner or later, and as long as he believed in it he was certain to find something helping him once more.

“Goofy? Donald?” Sora moves his arms so he can instead cup his mouth as he calls for his friends into the darkness; but nothing but his own voice in form of empty echoes answered him. The path ahead was difficult to discern, looking more like a maze than anything with its narrow pathway through cracked lands. He had to be careful, or he’s sure he’d fall down into the abyss below.

“... Riku? Your majesty? … Kairi?” Sora calls out again, and he tries to not let his voice shiver as there is a dark feeling squeezing his chest at the oppressive silence. Calling for them helped him ease up a little, as the thought of them was more than enough to give him renewed energy to keep going. But getting no response, and being all alone in this space…

Of course it made him scared. So that’s even more reason for him to be brave, right?

He’s not exactly sure how time works in this place. He feels like he has walked forever, and being someone that has traveled across the universe to find his friends, he had walked quite a lot. Had he ever been this tired then, too?

It was hard to say.

…

For a moment, Sora stops walking. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, trying to reach out for anything that could guide him. The darkness pressed into him at all sides, not easing up in any direction… It was like walking in a deep fog where it was difficult to discern the direction forward, but worse. It reminded him perhaps more of when he was in very deep waters after hitting his head, and thus losing his sense of direction while submerged at sea.

He had experienced that once in the island when he was a kid. Kairi lost her shoe that swiftly began floating away, and he instinctively ran off the edge to jump into the water to retrieve it before it would get out into open waters. He’s not sure how, but assumedly he was swiftly pulled away by a current and thrust head first into a treacherous obstacle nearby that gave him quite a good whack.

The strange and familiar part of this experience was the loss of direction he had then. The ground is down, and the sky is up. The water is horizontal and parallel to the ground. It can’t be more fundamental than that, and yet the moment he was in the water that time it all dissolved for him. All he could see was the deep blue and the white sand stretching on forever, and the currents held him more in place than what gravity seemingly did, making it impossible for him to get his bearings back.

Luckily Riku had been there, and he was a far better swimmer than both Kairi and Sora was too. He had pulled Sora out of his predicament and carried them both to the beach where they soon laughed heartily at Sora’s idiocy, but Sora never told Riku how utterly terrified he had been down there. It was all right then, it was okay, and he rather not dwell on the old stuff like that if he can help it.

… They never retrieved Kairi’s shoe, thinking of it.

Pushing the incident aside, his heart swells as he thinks about destiny island and his best friends there. He can imagine the sound of the waves rolling onto the sandy shores, and he can imagine the feeling of the sun shining on him with it’s warm light. It causes him to smile and gives him a brief sanctum of peace, because there is no place like home.

However, the peace doesn’t last forever.

All at once all the hair on his body stands up. He feels chills run through his body as seemingly humid, ice cold air presses against any exposed skin on him and slowly crawling inside what little his clothes tried to protect in vain, completely shattering the illusion of Destiny Island from his mind. The darkness, the cloudy landscape or whatever it was that oozed in this place… It all submerged Sora more than before.

He opens his eyes to find himself now stand in a forest, but the road was as thin as ever, never far from a treacherous edge. And from all his side, the shadows grew. It was more like the darkness culminated into itself, elongating into impossible shapes as a familiar giant begins to form.

By sheer reflex, Sora hunches and calls out his keyblade. It’s already battered from wear, but he still feels safer to hold this now fragile trinket in his hands than stand there bare handed. Stance wide and hunching slightly, he looks around himself with renewed yet fleeting focus. His keyblade however was getting cracks along it’s surface, foretelling that it couldn’t handle much more of darkness before shattering completely.

1.. 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… Shit. They were definitively far more already than he could take on, especially in the current state that he and his keyblade was in. He grins some, his bravery never flicking in the least as his flame was tested against the storm ahead of him. That was what little he had left, and even if he had to fake it to make it, he refused to give in to the dark forces.

“I guess it’s on, then..!” Sora wants to laugh, even if this wasn’t something he took enjoyment of. Perhaps this was the end of him at last; but he would never give up his hope. His heart beat loudly in his ears, like sirens blaring out warning of his low stamina as if his body was afraid he didn’t get the memo of impending dread and doom.

He did. He just refused to give up that easily, is all.

With a slight delayed reaction, he saw how one of the giants reached to punch at him head on, not losing a beat before starting their confrontation. Thanks to their size he could at least see them coming, but one hit was enough to reduce him into a perpetual denizen of the abyss, and he was fairly certain none of his friends would have that. He waited for the very last second to evade, and right before he jumped up and out of the hands projectile to avoid getting hit.

Now standing on the giants hand, Sora doesn’t waste one second. He feels himself scream a battle cry without fully hearing it, and makes a straight line to the giants face. He aims his keyblade right into the yellow shining orbs illuminating though the heartless face and blasts it with all he got; firaga.

It was not enough to kill the giant. Perhaps, if Sora wasn’t so worn out, he could take them on with practiced ease. A piercing sound reverberates in front of him, and he sees one of the cracks in his keyblade grow from his magic casting. Perhaps it was never meant to be brought to such a terribly dark place, but it had served him well, so far. He was proud of the artifact, and the time he got to serve along with it, letting him help those in need and borrowing him the strength he needed to protect everyone.

Before he can think more about it, he hears how another giant’s hand is flying against his back. He shouldn’t be able to hear it, but his heightened senses seemed to scream out the dangers in effort to keep him alive for one more moment longer. He jumps up in the air, trusting his heart blindly, and soon sees a black hand swing where he recently had stood beneath him.

That was two out of a dozen giants actions, and he was already spent. His thoughts were getting fragmented, and there was a comfortable buzz closing in around his senses. It was as if he was getting starved of oxygen, once more swimming around in a vast ocean without a sense of direction….

Out of habit, or was it a reflex..? He couldn’t discern what had possessed him to air dash to the side, but the fraction of a second after his mid air jump, he feels the currents of the winds, pushed by a giant hand, pass right by him.

He can’t do much more than smile in this fraction of eternity passing him by. Despite his grim predicament he smiles, and his heart feels like it grows impossibly large as he thinks of all his friends one last time and all the journeys he was able to be with them on.

He had followed his dear friend’s pieces to every corner of the universe, and the last piece had sunk down to the depths of the deepest darkness he had ever had the displeasure to walk in. He was never able to save her shoe; but that didn’t matter to him. He would make sure she would get back up and be whole again, but he wished he had the strength to come back to the others as well.

His spirit was like a wick fueling the flame one last time before going out, growing to its full height before inevitable being starved to death. At least he went out with no regrets.

He sees the hand of the giant darkness in front of him being raised, and he shifts to protect himself with his keyblade from the next incoming blow. But it’s cracks almost seem to illuminate in this grave hour, as if his keyblade is screaming out and alerting it’s wielder that it can no longer defend them from the next threat.

He closes his eyes as he floats inside there, letting himself go. Letting the warm fuzzy feeling spread through his body one last time as he thinks of them; his friends.

 

He’d never had gotten so far without them.

 

“Sora!” He barely registers someone calling out for him as he feels something wrap around him. It was warm, and so terribly comforting in contrast to the dark realm that had suffocated him for what felt like ages. Dare he even say it was a familiar feeling? But perhaps that was just another of his illusions that tried to make his end a little less horrible. If so, he didn’t mind it in the least, the end would come at any second now.

However, what startled him is the arm wrapping tighter around him, accompanied with the sound of a barrier bouncing the harm away from him; he would recognize that sound anywhere after all the time he had deflected the heartless’ attacks--

… Bouncing, the harm, away from him.

The attack never connected to him, and he felt nothing more than the warm presence next to him, holding him close with no sign of dissolving like his other illusions had done so far. His keyblade took no hit, but he feels himself move somewhere by the arm around him. His keyblade dissolves, and for once, he’s okay with this. He doesn’t feel alone the moment his keyblade left his side, because now another hope had taken its place.

He’s not sure what took him first. The oblivion of his exhaustion, or his mind crumbling his conscious down after holding on for so long. All he knows is that he resigned himself to the warm presence that had saved him in the last second of his fleeting life down here.

 

* * *

 

 

“Sora-- Sora, do you hear me?” The voice was urgent, and yet it felt so distant to him. It was as if he called out to the other from a far away tunnel, and merely the echoes reached him on the other side. The warm presence held something to his cheek, and it takes a moment for him to register that it was someone’s hand. His lips are dry, and a dull ache is coursing through his whole body. He’s lying somewhere soft, and he’s fairly sure he can hear the waves somewhere in the distance.

Did he drown?

Not answering the urgent call as his voice doesn’t seem to want to work soon enough, Sora tries to open his eyes instead. He feels his whole face contort in effort, and somewhere in the back of his mind he heard a sigh of relief that was soon accompanied of a breath washing over his face;  signaling that the person had probably been right over his face when they sighed. He don’t think his eyes are cracked open yet, but he’s far too disoriented to make any sense of what’s in front of him so he just got to rely on whatever signal input his brain discerned.

… But by he knew who it was. Hopefully it wouldn’t sound as creepy as it did in his head, but that breath and scent was familiar. Coupled with the voice and warm presence, he really knew who it was. Relief washes over him, and he can’t help but smile as he opens his eyes fully; it’s a struggle, but he ain’t someone giving up that easily on seeing his friends.

“Good morning Riku..” Sora can’t help but smile; perhaps more so at the utter confusion and yet amusement in Riku’s expression. He can see him clearly now, his silver hair and bright teal eyes illuminating the darkness. If he focused hard enough, it almost felt like they were back on destiny islands. That was a nice enough thought.

“Heh…. I can’t believe it, you’re dozing off on us again at the first given chance, Sora.” Riku teases, but there is too much relief in his tone to come off as his usual cool self. Sora grins just wider, but he feels like jelly where he lies. Riku is right over him, still cupping his neck and cheek, and it takes a second for him to realize that Riku probably checked for a pulse as his finger were still close to his neck, but no longer pressing down against the pulse area.

“You sound like a dork.” Sora teases him and reaches for the hand on his neck. His mind is groggy and clouded, and he tries to sit up. Riku helps him by placing a hand on his back, and he’s honestly uncertain if he’d be able to sit up unless Riku continued to supported him. For some reason he doubts it, and he knows that Riku is just as aware of this as he is himself.

“Not worse than you.” Riku replies smoothly, and sits back a little as he takes a look around before focusing on Sora again, his smile disappearing into a face more deterred with worry. “Anyways, we got to move. Do you think you can walk?”

“... Honestly? I’m… Not sure. Sorry.” Sora furrows his eyebrows, and he tries to sit on his own by leaning forward and away from the hand. But the moment he exerts any power, his head feel like it’ll burst. He winces, and soon after he feels Riku rub his back soothingly while his other hand presses Sora’s shoulder back as if urging him to lean on his supporting hand. Had he not felt this terrible, he’d give Riku back for childing him so.

“Gotcha. Think you can sit on my back without falling off? I’ll carry you piggy back.” Riku was still serious and soft, and yet some amusement found its way out through his tone. Or perhaps is was a mountain of relief still towering over him. Sora wanted to retort, but all he could do was laugh and smile widely at the other.

“Thanks.” Sora smiles, and this time he does his best to sit on his own as Riku turns around. After some hassle, Riku was able to hoist him up his back to give Sora a piggy back ride, and Sora could somehow manage to wrap his limbs around the other before he settles down. He feels like a rag doll, but thankfully Riku was quick to balance Sora and make sure he’d sit still on their walk somewhere.

… It was warm and comforting. He’s not sure if he’s the one terribly cold, or if Riku had brought some of that sun with him to this place. He grins as he thought about taking a cold hand down Riku’s shirt to give him a cold shock, but he was too tired to commit to it. Instead he nuzzles his face into Riku’s shoulder and finds a comfortable position, taking every second he can to gloat in the other’s presence. The dark realm didn’t provide a lot of reassuring presences, so he’d take anything he could get by then.

… He’s fairly sure he shouldn’t fall asleep again, but slumber doesn’t feel all that bad next to his sunshine.

 

* * *

 

He’s not sure what woke him up. He groaned softly and moves about, understanding that Riku was still carrying him and jogging along, which must have been why he woke up. Now he’s even less sure how he was asleep for so long as Riku must have kept up the pace for quite a while.

“Awake? Or are you going to sleep again, princess?” Riku teases the moment he feels Sora come to life, and Sora laughs as he squeezes the other as if it was a punishment. It’s not easy to do a lot from this position, honestly, but he’d do what he could.

“Riku, give me a break! I don’t know for how long I’ve been walking here, looking for a way out.” At first it’s amused, but… Soon it’s a genuine question. A concerning one. A concern confirmed as Riku takes a few steps before answering, slowing down his pace just a tad to ease for their conversation. But he never stops walking.

“Some weeks, I think.” Riku shifts Sora a little to get a better grip of him. “Or, you have been gone a few months.” Riku corrects himself, and Sora feels him trying to turn his head to give the other a glance.

“Huh, really? … But I haven’t been hungry.” Sora ponders, and it draws out a surprised laugh from his friend.

“Really Sora? Is that the first thing you think about?” Riku laughs once again, but stops as Sora kicks him in the side. He’s still smiling though, and Sora shakes his head before he rests his jaw on the others shoulder, ignoring the way it makes his head bounce with each step. Riku seems to try to walk a little smoother to help him, and Sora appreciates that so very much of the other. He closes his eyes again as it’s getting heavy, and he’s tired of seeing the dark realm already.

“I mean, shouldn’t I?” Sora huffs as he didn’t think it was all that weird, but it was hard to not smile as the others shoulder shook in a quiet laughter. He smiles, and snuggles into the other to steal more of his warmth. “... Where are we going?”

“To the extraction point. I can’t use my corridor of darkness anymore, so I’ll have to haul your ass all through this place to bail you out.” Riku says it seriously, but Sora smiles widely as he settles down. He feels his wear tear at him again, and he doubts he can be awake for much longer.

“Mhm… I bet you don’t mind.” Sora weakly retorts, no longer as awake as he had been seconds ago.

“Nah. Not really.” Riku answers, and he seems to get the cue. He holds Sora a little tighter as the other passes out for a second time.

 

* * *

 

He’s out of the darkness.

The oppressive feeling of the darkness is gone, replaced with soft sheets and warm, clear air. Moreso he feels something strong and warm wrapped around him, something that was so very familiar to him and something he was hugging close to his chest. He tries to stir to make sense of the situation in front of him...

It’s Riku’s arm that he was holding hostage against his chest, hugging it tightly as if it was a plushie. The remainder of Riku’s arm was draped over his waist to connect to Riku behind him. Something about the others presence made him relax, and he squeezes the hand into a hug as he opens his eyes slowly, as if uncertain of what he’d be met with.

It was some bedroom in the mysterious tower. It wasn’t grand, but he still loved it as it felt so very homely in contrast to where he had been lately. He could see stars through the oddly shaped windows in front of him, and it was as comforting as it could be. That darkness never bothered him, it was soothing in contrast to the dark realms suffocating void.

Gently Sora shifts, at first just moving to lie on his back as he gives Riku a curious glance. The other had been spooning him, still fully dressed and with some dirt on his cheek. He gives himself a brief look, finding his clothes just as tattered as before… Had they gone straight to bed, then..? He don’t remember anything of it, but he didn’t mind it either. But did he long for a proper pyjamas and some ice cream.

Moving around, he feels his wear peak up along with stiffness as if after a long sleep. It made it difficult to both stay in bed, or to get up from it. The air around him felt cold compared to Riku, and he turns around to nuzzle up against the others chest. He pulled the cover up high again, and sighs contently as he’s hidden again along with his personal radiator.

He just feels better as Riku moves in his sleep to hug him, holding him close. The presence alone was a big comfort for Sora, and he merely melts as Riku lazily moves to draw his fingers through his hair. Strange, to do that while you are asleep. It takes a moment or two to realize that perhaps Riku wasn’t asleep anymore. Sora didn’t mind, as long as he could stay here just a little longer.

“Mornin’” Riku speaks softly as he lifts the cover to look at his friend’s new hiding hole with a slightly raised eyebrow. Sora looks up at the other and gives a sheepish smile, which is soon returned by the other. There is nothing strange with their close proximity, and Sora is glad none of them seem to be estranged by the arrangement.

“-- Hi..” Sora weakly pipes up, his voice strained as if it had lacked use in days. … Perhaps it had. He discarded his worries though as Riku kept massaging his scalp, as if releasing him from his internal tensions. It worked, and Sora felt himself drop tensions he didn’t even know he still held.

“Hm… Do you remember anything?” Riku smiles, and the way he says it underlines something he finds very amusing. Sora looks up with a now suspicious squint, even if it’s difficult to be mad as he feels like a content cat sunbathing and getting scratches.

“Uhhhh… You mean in the darkness?” Sora raises his eyebrows, and Riku laughs softly as he shakes his head. He moves as to sit up, but Sora protests by hugging the other tighter by sheer reflex, not wanting to break this up anytime soon.

If Riku is going to sit up, Sora will follow! However, Riku seems to be persuaded into a snooze by the other’s actions and gives up trying to sit down, instead settling down in their previous position and making sure Sora is tucked down properly while giving a very bemused laughter.

“... Seriously, even when awake?” Riku laughs as he speaks, and he just smiles gently as Sora look up with a very puzzled frown, doing his best to demand answers. “You refused to let me go after we got back home, so, everyone voted for me to stay with you until you woke up. Do I have to carry you around all day like a princess koala, or what?” Riku can’t help but tease the other, but his eyes soften as Sora seems to get worried by all that, shifting a little uncomfortably as if arguing if he better let the other go.

“... Is it bad-- do you mind? I’ll be oka--” Sora begins, but stops as Riku cuts him off.

“I told you. I don’t mind. But it’s pretty hilarious to be your personal teddy bear.” Riku stops scratching Sora’s scalp and instead just pets his head once or twice.

“Thanks... I don’t.. I don’t want to be alone right now.” Sora admits with a tight frown, his heart on his sleeve like always. Riku pauses, but nods after and continues to pet Sora’s head as if to soothe him.

“Then you won’t be alone.” Riku says, simply. Sora smiles back, and as their discussion seems to come to a standstill he just presses his face against Riku’s chest. He can feel the others heartbeat. It’s nice.

“... Sorry but.. Do you remember anything?” Riku stops petting Sora after a while, and he looks down at the other hiding under the sheets. Sora thinks for a moment, and then he shakes his head.

“No, well, I had to-- KAIRI!” Sora jolts out from his current position. Despite his whole body’s protests he sits up and defiantly throws he sheets down, as if ready to run for the door. Lucky for him and his body, Riku deftly shifts to hug him to refuse him access to the floor. Deep in Sora’s mind he’s fairly certain he would trip the moment he tried to stand up, but his heart was beating too wildly to remain idle any longer.

“Kairi is okay. She is whole, thanks to you. So is Ventus, Aqua and Terra. Lea-- Axel, Roxas, Xion. Goofy, Donald, his majesty. Isa and Naminé as well.” Riku assured Sora, and after each name mentioned, Sora seems to relax. In fact, he deftly notes that he’s crying as he feels himself shake, and tears well over in his eyes as he’s so overwhelmingly relieved that all his friends are safe at last; and he’s reminded, he’s safe as well as Riku shifts to pull him into a tight hug, letting Sora hide against his chest once more as he reaches to hug his personal teddy bear once more.

“I was so scared..” Sora whispers before he can even think about it, and Riku shushes as he rubs Sora’s back to soothe him.

“That’s okay…” Riku’s voice is soft and warm to reassure the other. “We got you.”

“I thought I’d--” Sora begins, but stops as Riku shifts his hands to hold his cheeks, and gives his forehead a chaste kiss.

“Don’t even try to say that.” Riku’s voice is still soft, but it’s more tight in his chest as he stops what Sora was about to say. Blue meets turquoise, and while blue is already spilling tears, turquoise is not far behind.

“But what if it was all over--” Sora can’t help but spill his worries out of his lips. It’s not like him, he would always say he was okay and move on. He’d be strong until the end, he wouldn’t worry unnecessarily. This was a rare side of him when he let himself be overwhelmed, but Riku was there to hold him together.

“I told you, Sora. You don’t believe that. I know you don’t.” Riku starts, and it does little more than fan the flames inside Sora. It was a complicated feeling, one he didn’t like in the least and he was about to be swayed by anger. Despite their warm sunny place, despite being in a place of light, Sora felt darkness tangle with the bottom of his stomach. Like cold flames licking the inside of his skin, he let himself almost lose to the darkness hidden inside him, but it all died down as Riku surprised him with another affectionate gesture.

Riku closed his eyes and leaned down to press his forehead against Sora, his hands still cupping the others cheek as he draws a rare, shaky breath, and speaks with such a soft voice that surprised even himself.

“... I’ll never let you lose hope, Sora. Because that would mean I failed to protect what matters the most to me.” Riku nearly whispers. Sora is still, feeling like a void opened up in his gut where his rage had nearly taken place, and instead his heart swelled impossibly large.

Unable to respond, he instead reaches to hold Riku close. And Riku returns the act, as if his life depended on it.

 


End file.
